His Saving Grace
by stardustii
Summary: Greed." he answered in response, "Greed was my saving grace."


The reason he had first fallen in love was completely unethical.

Blaise had looked at him, his eyes wide as saucers, and said he needed psychiatric care.  
Pansy had told him that he'd had too much to drink, that he should get some sleep.  
He figured he should read a book on why people fell in love, because, apparently, the reason why _he_ did was inadequate.

It was Greed.

He'd wanted some of the happiness that exuded from deep within her soul and radiated out in smiles and laughter, wanted a friendship that would last forever.  
He'd wanted to hear the softness in her voice when she comforted her friends, wanted to feel her hand patting him gently on his back.

He wanted to be loved.

No, he didn't deserve it. He knew that.  
He knew the hate he had shown over the years wouldn't be forgotten.  
But just as a peasant wished for royalty, Draco dreamed of love, impossible as it was.

He'd been raised to be a strong Death Eater; one who wouldn't be affected by crying babies, pleading women, and friendship. These were cast aside, regarded as disturbances in the grand scheme of the Dark Lord's plan. He'd grown up surrounded by hatred, apathy, and brutal jealousy, as well as greed.

He had witnessed greed for power.  
The Dark Lord constantly suppressed his death eaters, constantly kept them on their toes, made sure not one got too powerful. Those who did, disappeared. Voldemort accepted no rivalry, no uprisings. It was for him, or against him. There was no middle ground. Perhaps that was what separated the Death Eaters from the rest; their ability to blindly follow their leader, even unto death.

He knew that many were greedy for more possessions, and it seemed that nothing could satiate their thirst for the things of the world. As a child who was never deprived of toys or magical items, Draco never experience a severe _want_ for items. He had no problem throwing things away, wasteful as it was. There was always the knowledge that he could buy something better later on.

There was greed for skill, greed for knowledge, greed for money, and greed for strength.

But never in his life would he have thought that there was greed for love. Would one be so deprived, so wanting of love that he'd hoard it, act as if it was the fountain of life? Would he want it so much that just watching joy would instill some into his own heart?

---

He saw her every day, walking to and from the castle-like towers as she went to class. Joy, he'd thought, was a drug. Addictive and pleasant.  
Once he'd had a taste of her joy, her undiluted happiness, he wanted more. And for the first time in his life, Draco wanted something with his whole heart, and he wanted an unending supply. And slowly, he fell in love with Hermione's contagious laughter, sweet smile, and teasing banter.

It took him two months for him to approach her, to go up to her and say hello. She'd been alone in the library, studying diligently for the Potions test the next day. To his surprise, she didn't greet him with her usual sneer. Perhaps she was tired, perhaps she knew he didn't hate her anymore. Whatever the reason, she greeted him with a small smile and gestured to the nearest chair. "Have a seat."

He was at a loss for words.

_Granger, could I be your friend?_ He dismissed that idea; it was lame.  
_Hermione, I've fallen in love with your smile._ He discarded that idea as well; he knew it wouldn't work.  
_Teach me how to laugh. I never learned._ He frowned. How babyish of him to say something like that.

Frustrated, he got up from his chair. "Sorry for wasting your time."  
He was about to leave when he felt a hand land on his arm, softly, yet compellingly insistent.

"You've changed," she began softly, her brow wrinkling as she thought, "something's different about you. What happened?"

He smiled down at her, reveled in the genuine tone of her voice. Knowing she wouldn't understand but needing to say it, he spoke.

"Greed." he said in response, "Greed was my saving grace."

* * *

**A/N:** Heyy :)

I wrote this in like half an hour, so grammatical errors abound, i'm sure. 

Written for the challenge thing. Prompt: Greed

Review:D 


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